ORODRUIN is a doom metal band that started in 1998 and hails from Rochester, New York. This is a reissue of their first full-length record entitled "Epicurean Mass" reissued through Cruz Del Sur Music in 2021.

If you enjoy your guitars with layers of heaviness and cymbals that just resonate through your speakers, then you will be fulfilled with the "Peasants Lament", a number with both a hard rock and doom/groove approach. The incredible vocal talents of Mike Puleo are on full display as well. There is a natural vibe to his vocal style that matches the tempo perfectly throughout the song. There is a middle section here where the guitars are much lower than the rest of this composition and it slows down right after into a great bluesy portion and a blistering solo.

"Melancholia" as the title may suggest goes into a different mood. I would not call it depressive, but it lingers a little more than the earlier track, and the pounding guitar quickly rears its beautiful head. Without putting too much emphasis on this element, the vocals are quite the standout, both in their special register and output. Usually, I would be able to find a comparison, and the closest would be ISOLE, except these are a bit lower, but they also really cling to your ears just like the European legends of the genre. When things speed up a bit, the song does go into more of a stoner rock powerhouse, but this part is very succinct in the overall picture the band is portraying here.

The love I have for NEUROSIS showed its presence in the very powerful "Unspeakable Truth" because of the very low tone used and some bombastic distortion that pounds right through your heart. Once again, the lyrical delivery is astonishing and there is a very different solo, that has a psychedelic aspect to it, showing another dimension to the guitar playing by the highly talented John Gallo and Nick Tydelski on both the rhythm and solo sides of the spectrum. The added bongos were also an interesting choice and adds some depth to the percussions.

The standout however is the final song on the album which also happens to be the title track "Epicurean Mass" packing one of the most memorable rhythm guitar parts on the album (already quite the attraction in the other songs). The song sticks to this money riff for most of the song, and it being the longest number on the album, it has room to progress and have a lasting impact on the listener. The organs also add another layer to an amazing closer.

Not being familiar with this project, I was very impressed by the production, the quality of all the songs, the great vocals, and the consistency throughout the record. Considering this album was released originally in 2003, it fits in perfectly with the renaissance of doom and stoner in this musical era. It does not sound dated in any shape or form. If there was ever a doom album that fell off my radar and deserves attention, this would be the one.